Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia

Joydip Ghosal

Politics of Hate, Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia (HarparCollins Publishers India) is an insightful compilation of articles on the role of political top honchos and media in executing hatred and mistrust for their political end. This book covers the ominous developments in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This book brings to the fore the horrible predicament of the minorities in these countries. Identity politics coupled with attacks on mosques, temples and churches precipitated the downfall of vestige of democracy in many countries. Politicians of various hues exploited the religious sentiments to mobilise support in their favour. Majoritarianism try to ignite the deep rooted fear and grievances among the majoritarian population. They fear that their culture is at stake. They spread canards and timely calculated campaign that minorities are a threat to economic opportunities for the majority. Following the partition it commenced with the Islamisation of Pakistan. People also witnessed the Hindu supremacist tendency in India. Attacks on minorities in Bangladesh and Buddhist supremacism is also on the upward trend.

In the introduction the editor of the book Farahnaz Ispahani points out that the last decade or more has seen a rise in majoritarian communalism across the large parts of the world. Pakistan formed as homeland for British India’s Muslims has metamorphosed into a state where minorities face harassment and prosecution. At the beginning there were 17 percent non-Muslims in Pakistan. But now minorities comprise only 3 percent of the population. In unequivocal terms Farahnaz Ispahani sates that at the time of partition Pakistan was cleansed of its Sikh and Hindu population. It pursued discriminatory policies. As a result many Ahmadis and Christians emigrated from the country. She further observed that Constitution of Pakistan does not recognise Ahmadis as Muslims. Tehreek- e- labbaik Pakistan (TLP) orchestrated the attack. It rose to popularity on the plank of blasphemy. Poor Hindu and Christian girls were converted through forced marriage but the legal system overlooked the matter of coercion and intimidation.

According to her at different times various Islamist ideologues had battled for the urgency of differing treatment between Muslims and non- Muslims. Bangladesh also metamorphosed into a battle ground for radical Islamist groups. With great apprehension Farahnaz Ispahani noted that minorities were attacked in Bangladesh in a planned and calculated manner. In March, 2020, hundreds of supporters of Hefazat-e- Islam vandalised the houses belonging to Hindus in Sylhet division. In Sri Lanka Tamils, Muslims and Christians bear the brunt. In April, 2019 on Easter Sunday suicide bombers attacked hotels and churches. More than 209 people were assassinated. One month after the attack two riots broke out. Muslims faced discrimination. They were forced to stop their businesses. Informal boycott made their predicament graver.
In 2021 Sri Lankan government promulgated that it would only allow cremation for those “dying from COVID-19”. After intense pressure from UN and various doctor groups it backtracked and allowed the burial of Muslims and Christians. Sri Lankan Minister for public security Sarath Weerasekara declared that a plan to ban burqa was afoot and 1000 Islamist schools would be banned. After vehement protest that policy was rescinded.

In December 2019, after the passing of Citizenship Amendment Act it became evident that “Indian government saw Muslims differently from how it saw other communities”. With great apprehension Farahnaz Ispahani observed that in 2020 when Donald Trump was in India Delhi witnessed most horrific anti-Muslim riots. In July 2021 jailed rights activist Father Stan Swamy died in a prison in Mumbai. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders had termed the detention as ‘inexcusable’.

Hussein Haqqani in his article ‘Religious Majoritarianism in a Diverse Region’ points out that Pakistan has one of the strictest blasphemy laws and country’s beleaguered victims are the main target. In 2019 eighty-two people were accused of blasphemy. In 2020 Government of Pakistan first allowed a construction of temple in Islamabad but backtracked against the pressure of religious clerics. Haqqani also brought to the fore the fact that in 2020 the government of Pakistani Punjab took measures against Ahmadis and many top brass of government overtly engaged in anti- Ahmadi rhetoric. In Pakistan government and political structure defines nationalism through religion. US Department of State report on international religious freedom explained, “Perpetrators of societal violence and abuses against religious minorities (in Pakistan) often faced no legal consequences due to lack of follow- through by law enforcement, bribes offered by the accused, and pressure on victims to drop cases”. In 2020 Pakistan witnessed anti-Shia campaigns on social media. In September 2020, Sunni religious groups organised protest march in Karachi and they demanded that Shia Muslims be called ‘blasphemers and unbelievers’.

Even Bangladesh has not been able to extricate itself from this religious miasma. In July 2021, a Sufi Muslim was killed outside a Sufi shrine in Gazipur. Local residents exhumed the body of an Ahmadi Muslim infant from the cemetery. They claimed that her family members were infidels. Attacks against Hindus were reported from Sylhet and capital city of Dhaka. According to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council there was a spurt in communal violence against minorities during COVID-19 pandemic.

In Sri Lanka when Solomon Bandaranaike won the election he asserted that since 70 percent of Sri Lanka was Sinhala , Sinhalese had to be the official language. “Tamil was no longer recognised as a state language’’. Sri Lanka witnessed violent anti-Tamil riots and the state was in a severe turmoil. In Nepal some Christian pastors were incarcerated for violating COVID-19 lockdown. It was alleged that they sought to convert Hindus to Christianity. It was curious that Hindu priests and Buddhist monks were not arrested for similar violations.

Faizur Rahman in his article ‘Muslimophobia in India’ lays bare the sinister design by the rightwing ideologues and the rightward shift in Indian politics that catapulted the BJP in power in 2014. Muslims in India have been abused, demonised and suspected.

Niranjan Sahoo in his article ‘Hindu Majoritarianism and Unmaking the Idea of India’ shows that how with the rise of ultra-nationalists and resurgence of divisive ideologies India’s secular credentials are under threat. In ‘The Indian Media’s Role in fuelling Communal Violence: Media divides and Hates for Profit’ Maya Mirchandani scrutinises the role of media in furthering social division. It is based on normalising hate speech and identity. Religious minorities are the main target. Mainstreaming of communal rhetoric has been normalised.

In ‘Islamophobia and Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism in Sri Lanka’ Neil Devotta traces the rise of Islamophobia in the island nation. Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism also exacerbated the matter. According to the author Muslims have consistently stood beside the Sinhalese assertiveness against Tamil separatist movements. The LTTE acted as catalyst to exacerbate the Muslim- Tamils divide by attacking the mosques. Muslims were murdered. The author cited that in 1985 the LTTE’s attempt to kidnap a Muslim trader’s daughter caused the Tamil- Muslim riot in eastern province. J R Jayewardene government urged the Muslims to combat against the Tamils. Islamophobia indicates irrational fear about the Muslims. Anti- Muslim politicking tries to manipulate such fears for political gains. These instances are rampant in Sri Lanka.

‘Fear, Radicalism and Violence, Sri Lanka’s Cyclical Crisis’ by Gehan Gunatilleke shows that Islamopho-bia, Islamist radicalism, violence and majoritarianism in Sri Lanka are mutually reinforcing and interconnected. Islamophobic discourses patronises deeper majoritarian complexes. In this backdrop Muslim community symbolises a ‘threat’ to the Sinhala Buddhist community.

In ‘ Christians in Pakistan: Retrospect and Prospects’, former bishop Michael Nazir Ali deliberates upon the spread of Christianity to Pakistan. Readers also get acquainted with the spread of Christianity to South Asia. Mohammad Taki in his article ‘Genesis of the Shia Predicament in Pakistan’ with historical background showed that Ayub Khan added a highly jingoistic dimension to the two-nation theory. It created a supra-ethnic identity that was Islamic in nature and militarily directed against India. This religio-political identity tried to impose homogeneity at the expense of diverse population and their religious persuasions. Those who did not yield to the official formulation of identity were derogated as outliers. Non- conformists entities were categorised as ‘other’. In 1963 Shia commemorations of Muharram were violently attacked in Narowal, Sindh, Khairpur, Lahore of Punjab. An Imambargah in Kheri was set on fire in Khairpur district. Dozens of Shia worshippers were torched. The cycle of violence, protests and demands of protection were a recurring theme for the Shia in Pakistan.

Each military regime reinforced the idea of Jingoism and statism. It was stacked against democratic forces. The Pakistani army’s project of using Sunni fundamentalists and militants had metamorphosed into a jihadist ecosystem. In the second phase of Musharraf’s rule Lashkar- e-Jhangvi unleashed a reign of terror against Shia community. Army never dismantled its Jihadist project. It always tried to dominate the political culture. The state’s politics of Islamisation of laws and Constitution and mushrooming of Jihadist forces under its auspices brought grave predicament for Sunni population.

Farahnaz Ispahani’s article ‘Pakistan’s Legal Framework and Treatment of Religious Minorities’ is an insightful article on this subject. She made an in–depth research on how Pakistan’s legal system was methodically stacked against religious minorities.

Legal changes enabled bigoted religious groups to settle scores with or persecute against religious minorities. Under the vaguely worded blasphemy laws false cases were slapped upon the Ahmadis. After Musharraf’s removal from the office in 2008 Pakistani laws continued to deny or interfere with the region’s practices of minorities. Periodic organised violence against minorities also happened. Needless to say, religious minorities in Pakistan are targets of legal and social discrimination.

Ali Riaz traced the genesis of radicalisation in Bangladeshi society and politics. In ‘Understanding the Radicalisation of Bangladeshi Society and Politics’ Ali Riaz presents a multi-layered argument.

In ‘Religious Intolerance in Bangladesh’ C Christine Fair and Parina Patel examined the rise of intolerance and sectarianism in Bangladesh with the use of data set.

According to Tanvir Aijaj the populist leaders with their anti-elite rhetoric are generally rightwing. They reinforce inequality and develop crony capitalism. They embrace capitalism in its most exploitative form.
These leaders generate existential phobia where social fault lines and religious divide thrive.

In the name of defending nation they support attack against ‘religious others’. This book examines the religious, social and cultural factors that contributed to the growth of religious majoritarianism. This book helps readers to understand the majoritarian antagonism and politics of hate. This book serves as a timely study of the phenomenon of politically motivated ethnic and religious division.

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Vol 57, No. 15 - 18, Oct 5 - Nov 2, 2024